A coffee shop like no other has just opened in the heart of Manhattan, on the corner of Lexington Avenue and East 52nd Street. In this corporate district near Rockefeller Center, Café Joyeux’s careful furnishings and peaceful atmosphere are in stark contrast to neighboring eateries, which tend to emphasize speed of service and a minimalist decor. But the main difference in this new French chain is above all human. Diana, Malik, Troy, Rachel, and the nine other team members serving customers at the counter, in the dining room, and in the kitchen all have Down’s syndrome or autism. Four manage ..read more

Between the beginning of the German occupation in June 1940 and the Allied liberation in September 1944, the French port city of Le Havre was bombed 132 times – mostly by British planes trying to wipe out the Nazi fortress that had been established there. These 132 bombings razed 370,000 acres of land, destroyed 12,500 of the city’s buildings, obliterated the port and its 350 ships, which lay wrecked on the seabed, killed 5,000 people, and left roughly 80,000 more homeless. It would be 20 years before the city was fully rebuilt. In 1946, not even two years after the liberation of Le Havre, A ..read more

“You’re going on tour with Ella Fitzgerald and Dizzy Gillespie for the paper.” Jean-Marie Périer couldn’t believe it. He was 17 and his boss had just given him a Leica and instructions to pick up the American artists at the airport in Nice. “I can tell you, with my baby face, I stood out like a sore thumb,” he says. Regardless, he took the musician to the sea and photographed him in his swimming trunks on the beach at Juan-les-Pins, blowing bubbles with his trumpet in the blue Mediterranean water. “That’s how I made the cover of Jazz Magazine for the first time!” In 1956, the young Fred Ast ..read more

Paris, Avignon, and now Manhattan! At the age of 41, Cyril Dewavrin has already taken over or set up three bookstores in France. For his fourth, he decided to cross the Atlantic. Last December, he opened La Joie de Vivre at 145 West 27th Street. For now, the space has been launched as a pop-up with a limited selection of 3,500 books in French and English. Meanwhile, he is finishing work on the “big” bookshop, due to open in mid-March. Spanning more than 1,700 square feet, the space will offer over 10,000 works in both languages, including classic and contemporary literature, essays, coffee-t ..read more

“Restaurant servers in two different countries chased me down the street last month,” confided a friend just back from a round-the-world trip. “In Kyoto, it was to give me back the cash I’d left on the table for a tip; in Chicago, it was because I hadn’t tipped enough!” In the first case, she said, the server was embarrassed; in the second, furious. As most well-traveled readers will know, one of the hardest things to master is when and whether to tip and, if so, how much to give. But a closer look at the phenomenon – especially from a cross-cultural perspective – reveals deep-seated histori ..read more

Don’t they say that the end justifies the means? Last year, the French government concocted a series of legislative measures aimed at controlling and curbing immigration, in a bid to take the wind out of the far right’s sails. The measures considered included a restriction on access to French nationality. As a reminder, this can currently be acquired in two main ways. Firstly, through parentage, known in French law as le droit du sang or jus sanguinis. A child is French if at least one of his or her parents is French at the time of birth. Secondly, by being born on French territory, by le dr ..read more

Lempicka: The Musical MARCH 19-SEPTEMBER 8, 2024 Longacre Theatre 220 West 48th Street New York, NY 10036 Website The show Lempicka dramatizes the life story of the Polish-born artist, whose portraits epitomize the Art Deco aesthetic. A glamorous member of the social and creative scene in interwar Paris, she moved to the United States when World War II broke out, and her star waned as tastes changed. The pendulum has clearly swung back in the other direction. Starring Eden Espinosa and directed by Tony Award-winner Rachel Chavkin (Hadestown). By Tracy Kendrick The ..read more

France-Amérique: The French are worried about Donald Trump winning a second term and they don’t understand what makes him so popular. Could you shed some light on the question? Gérard Araud: First of all, we need to understand why Trump is currently the leading Republican candidate and ahead in the polls. The simple answer is that his voters don’t judge him by the same criteria as the French do. In fact, they have rather positive memories of his first term; the economy was in good health and, above all, there was no inflation – unlike today. Gas was cheaper, which is decisive in voter attit ..read more

France-Amérique: At Harvard, in your North American Francophone Podcast, and in your upcoming book, you dissect identities you describe as franco-américaines. What does this French term mean? Claire-Marie Brisson: The term franco-américain has two English translations: “French-American,” which refers to people influenced by both cultures, and “Franco-American,” which defines French speakers born in North America. The latter, particularly those living in New England, are mainly descended from people whose origins can be traced back to Quebec and Acadia. It would be interesting to use other ..read more

Some wear impeccably pressed western shirts, belts with big, shiny buckles, jeans, and leather boots. These are the more traditional looks. Others opt for a more casual, urban style, with tracksuits or baggy pants, T-shirts, gold or silver chains, and Air Jordan sneakers. The former sport straw cowboy hats, while the latter wear baseball caps backwards. But whatever their sartorial allegiance, they all share the same passion for zydeco music, horses, and a little-known culture unique to Southwest Louisiana and Southeast Texas: Creole trail rides. These outings take place every weekend. Popul ..read more